Checking your blind spot

Hey everyone, I was wondering if you could clarify something for me, I had discussion with a friend last night in a bar (who has apparently done a defensive driving course) who said his wife did the seemingly extremely dangerous thing of turning her head to check her blind spot before changing lane etc..apparently you should never take your eye off straight ahead even for a split second. I checked the highway code which says to check your blind spots by turning your head. He said because he was a defensive driver trained guy you're taught to check your blind spot with your mirrors... what does the IAM say about checking blind spots? I always thought you should place your mirrors well to allow for the best visability and still check your blindspot by physically looking.

Hey everyone, I was wondering if you could clarify something for me, I had discussion with a friend last night in a bar (who has apparently done a defensive driving course) who said his wife did the seemingly extremely dangerous thing of turning her head to check her blind spot before changing lane etc..apparently you should never take your eye off straight ahead even for a split second. I checked the highway code which says to check your blind spots by turning your head. He said because he was a defensive driver trained guy you're taught to check your blind spot with your mirrors... what does the IAM say about checking blind spots? I always thought you should place your mirrors well to allow for the best visability and still check your blindspot by physically looking.

You're right, and the defensive driving guy is talking utter nonsense. The reason it's called a "blind spot" is because you can't check it with your mirrors!

It wasn't a case of proving him wrong, I just wanted to know if I was doing something I shouldn't be. I always check my blind spot by turning my head, infact it actually scares me when I'm a passenger and the driver only makes a quick glance in the mirror before changing lane.

If one finds oneself driving in a manner that requires constant observation of the nearground for things to react to, then the issue isn't what's lurking in the blindspot. With decent long-range observation anticipation and creation of time, you should always have time to allow your gaze to explore and linger on issues outside of the narrow focus.

an observant driver would have seen that vehicle in lane 2 in his door and rearview mirror before it crept alongside him/her, too many ONLY look forward without checking mirrors when on motorways, once youve driven a truck (with numpties attempting hari-kiri up any side) it gets ingrained - keep looking in mirrors.....

Of course you should always check your mirrors and see anything creeping up on you, but I see a blind spot check as a final confirmation that someone hasn't done anything you didn't happen to spot - fast moving motorbike, perhaps. It takes no time and improves safety, so I'm not happy with any argument that says "you don't need to check your blind spot because you should already know if something's there".

Shoulder checks are also ingrained when you ride a motorbike (as your blind spots are far larger).

No chance, the interstates are accident magnets. Too many miles at too low a speed. People zone out, become engrossed in something else, watch tv or read books (I'm not kidding). And hence many accidents occur.

At a lower speed, true. So they're less severe. Typical America really, quantity over quality.

I always do a blind spot check, and it scares me stless when I'm a passenger of someone who starts moving, indicates and casually looks in the mirror at the same time. These same people tend to be the "good" drivers as well, and above any constructive criticism.

Hey everyone, I was wondering if you could clarify something for me, I had discussion with a friend last night in a bar (who has apparently done a defensive driving course) who said his wife did the seemingly extremely dangerous thing of turning her head to check her blind spot before changing lane etc..apparently you should never take your eye off straight ahead even for a split second. I checked the highway code which says to check your blind spots by turning your head. He said because he was a defensive driver trained guy you're taught to check your blind spot with your mirrors... what does the IAM say about checking blind spots? I always thought you should place your mirrors well to allow for the best visability and still check your blindspot by physically looking.

You're right, and the defensive driving guy is talking utter nonsense. The reason it's called a "blind spot" is because you can't check it with your mirrors!

agreed.i always do this in the wagon when joining motorways or similar.even though the current wagon i drive has 6 mirrors, i still like the glance over my shoulder.its all about forward planning to keep everything smooth and flowing in my opinion.sadly, as we all see on a daily basis,its amazing how many people lack this on the road today.

It saved me not long ago, I was checking mirrors and 'knew' there was no-one there, so indicated, started moving, then checked blind spot.....but because I wasn't 'jerking' the wheel, The guy never reacted because i hadn't left my lane.

I had this very conversation with my brother the other day. He claims to be "always looking in his mirrors" to the extent that he "knows" what's around him. He's driven a lot of miles in commercial vehicles where checking a blind spot isn't quite as easy as turning your head.

My retort was that, no matter how often, looking in his mirrors meant he only knew what was where he looked when he looked. The only way to know what is or isn't in his blind spot is to look there. It's not quite Schroedinger's blindspot but we enjoyed the reference. I've driven a lot of miles in a car that only has a tiny mirror in the middle of the windscreen.

Having a good appreciation of what's going on around you is (should be) a minimum requirement but I'm not sure it's a substitute for absolute certainty.